University of Bordeaux

The University of Bordeaux (French: Université de Bordeaux, pronounced [ynivɛʁsite də bɔʁdo]) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are also several smaller teaching sites in various other towns in the region, including in Bayonne. The University of Bordeaux counts more than 50,000 students, over 6,000 of which are international. Alumni include three Nobel Prize winners, two members of France's National Assembly, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and a King of Morocco. It is a member of the ComUE d'Aquitaine university group. History The original Université de Bordeaux was established by Pope Eugene IV on 7 June 1441 when Bordeaux was an English town. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the National Convention abolished the university. The university re-opened in 1896 as a result of the law of 18 July 1896. In 1970, the university was split into three universities: Bordeaux I, Bordeaux II, and Bordeaux III. In 1995, Bordeaux IV split off from Bordeaux I. Since 2014, the aforementioned universities have been reunited to form the University of Bordeaux, except for Bordeaux III, which did not take part in the merger and remains independent of the University of Bordeaux. Academics As of the 2025 school year, the university is organized into four colleges: Law, political science, economics, and management Health sciences Humanities Sciences & technology Additionally, the university has four constituent institutes, which are the: Institute of Technology (IUT) Institute of Business Administration (IAE) Science Institute of Vine and Wine (ISVV) National Higher Institute for Teaching and Education (INSPE) The University of Bordeaux has a strong reputation for studies in psychology, ranking fourth in France in Le Figaro's 2023 ranking. Campuses Unlike most North American universities, most French universities do not have one central campus. The University of Bordeaux has seven facilities within the environs of Bordeaux, and 22 sites across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The University's Peixotto, Bordes, and Montagne-Montesquieu campuses form a continuous university area south of the city center, in the areas of Talence and Pessac. These house the University's science and technology faculty, as well as parts of the college of law, political science, economics and management. Parts of Bordeaux Montaigne University are also on this campus. The University's law department also has a site at Place Pey Berland , in close proximity to the Bordeaux Cathedral, the Bordeaux courthouse, and the École nationale de la magistrature, the French national judiciary school. The Bastide campus is located on the right bank of the Garonne river, opposite the city center, and houses the University's Institut d'administration des entreprises, or business school, IAE Bordeaux, as well as some of the University's Institut universitaire de technologie, IUT de Bordeaux, programs related to accounting and management. The University's Victoire campus is located on Place de la Victoire , at the end of Rue Saint-Catherine . Part of the building was designed as a monument historique in 2016. The Victoire campus contains the faculties of anthropology, sociology, education, and psychology. In 1915, French actress Sarah Bernhardt had her leg amputated at the nearby Hôpital Saint-Augustin; the amputated leg was reportedly kept in the medical faculty at the Victoire campus until the faculty was moved in 1977. Demography StudentsYear42,00044,00046,00048,00050,00052,00020042007201020132016201920222025StudentsEvolution of the number of students at Unive....mw-chart-f66897431a135bb15e4f28629db197c739b27864fd1d58236a46a0ac882589ba136153fc81829246889a9385e75a5be7ea3388a23d3234782914e327a1425046__zr5534408-cls-29073255:hover{pointer-events:none}.mw-chart-f66897431a135bb15e4f28629db197c739b27864fd1d58236a46a0ac882589ba136153fc81829246889a9385e75a5be7ea3388a23d3234782914e327a1425046__zr5534408-cls-29073256:hover{cursor:pointer;fill:rgba(0,0,0,1)}.mw-chart-f66897431a135bb15e4f28629db197c739b27864fd1d58236a46a0ac882589ba136153fc81829246889a9385e75a5be7ea3388a23d3234782914e327a1425046__zr5534408-cls-29073257:hover{cursor:pointer}.mw-chart-f66897431a135bb15e4f28629db197c739b27864fd1d58236a46a0ac882589ba136153fc81829246889a9385e75a5be7ea3388a23d3234782914e327a1425046__zr5534408-cls-29073258:hover{cursor:pointer;fill:rgba(82,130,235,1)}.mw-chart-f66897431a135bb15e4f28629db197c739b27864fd1d58236a46a0ac882589ba136153fc81829246889a9385e75a5be7ea3388a23d3234782914e327a1425046__zr5534408-cls-29073259:hover{cursor:pointer;fill:rgba(0,0,0,0)} Notable alumni Academia Geoffrey Keating (c. 1569–c. 1644), Irish historian Léon Duguit (1859–1928), French scholar of public law Henri Moysset (1875–1949), French historian and politician Jacques Ellul (1912–1994), French philosopher, sociologist, lay theologian, and professor James Joll (1918–1994), British historian and university lecturer Julio Cotler (1932–2019), Peruvian anthropologist and sociologist Théophile Obenga (b. 1936), Congolese Egyptologist Spencer C. Tucker (b. 1937), American military historian Charles Butterworth (b. 1938), American political philosopher Helene Hagan (b. 1939), Moroccan–American anthropologist and Amazigh activist Pascal Salin (b. 1939), French economist and professor Marie-France Vignéras (b. 1946), French mathematician Alfredo Co (b. 1949), Filipino Sinologist Idowu Bantale Omole (b. 1954), Nigerian professor and academic administrator Abderrahmane Hadj-Salah (1928–2017), Algerian linguist Roger Naslain (b. 1936), professor of chemical and physical science at the University of Bordeaux Guy Brousseau (1933–2024), French mathematician Éric Lamarque (b. 1967), French academic and advisor to the French government on banking Activism Aubrey Willis Williams (1890–1965), American social and civil rights activist Jean-Claude Bajeux (1931–2011), Haitian political activist and professor Louis Clayton Jones (1935–2006), African-American international attorney and civil rights leader Business Mireille Gillings (b. 1971), French Canadian neurobiologist and entrepreneur Olivier Le Peuch (b. 1963/1964), French businessman, CEO of Schlumberger Law Thomas Barclay (c. 1570–1632), Scottish jurist and professor Montesquieu (1689–1755), legal philosopher and political theorist Ba Maw (1893–1977), Burmese politician James Marshall Sprouse (1923–2004), United States Circuit judge Literature and journalism François Mauriac (1885–1970) French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, journalist and Nobel laureate (1952) Saint-John Perse (1887–1975), French poet and diplomat, Nobel laureate (1960) Lucien Xavier Michel-Andrianarahinjaka (1929–1997), Malagasy writer, poet and politician Annie Ernaux (b. 1940), Nobel laureate (2022) French writer and professor of literature Esther Seligson (1941–2010), Mexican writer, poet, translator, and historian Lee Mallory (b. 1946), American poet, editor and academic Marc Saikali (b. 1965), Lebanese–French journalist Sarah Ladipo Manyika (b. 1969), British Nigerian writer Performing arts Luc Plissonneau (b. 1961), French screenwriter and film director Morteza Heidari (b. 1968), Iranian TV presenter Koffi Olomide (b. 1956), Congolese singer-songwriter Politics Hassan II (1929–1999), King of Morocco Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac (1778–1832), French statesman Jean Ybarnégaray (1883–1956), Basque–French politician Michel Buillard (1950), mayor of Papeete, French Polynesia Jean-Fernand Audeguil (1887–1956), French politician Ba Maw (1893–1977), Head of State of Burma Michel Kafando (b. 1942), Burkinabé diplomat Xavier Darcos (b. 1947), French politician, scholar, civil servant and former Minister of Labour Jean-Paul Gonzalez (b. 1947), French virologist Mario Aoun (b. 1951), Lebanese politician Alain Vidalies (b. 1951), the French Secretary of State for Transport, the Sea and Fisheries Nagoum Yamassoum (b. 1954), Chadian politician and former Prime Minister of Chad Anicet-Georges Dologuélé (b. 1957), Central African politician Reza Taghipour (b. 1957), Iranian conservative politician Thierry Santa (b. 1967), French Polynesian politician in New Caledonia Germaine Kouméalo Anaté (b. 1968), Togolese government minister, scholar and writer Olivier Falorni (b. 1972), French politician Myriam El Khomri (b. 1978), French politician Sciences Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), French physician, politician and freemason and namesake of the guillotine Célestin Sieur (1860–1955), French physician Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard (1873–1927), French pharmacist and botanist Pierre-Paul Grassé (1895–1985), French zoologist Laure Gatet (1913–1943), French pharmacist, biochemist and spy Basile Adjou Moumouni (1922–2019), Beninese physician Roland Paskoff (1933–2005), French geologist Jean-Marie Tarascon (b. 1953), French chemist and professor Bruno Vallespir (b. 1960), French engineer and professor Sports Jean-Pierre Escalettes (b. 1935), French retired footballer Karounga Keïta (1941–2023), Malian football official and former coach and player Bixente Lizarazu (b. 1969), Basque–French retired footballer Visual arts Charles James (1906–1978), English-American fashion designer Winemaking Emma Gao Émile Peynaud (1912–2004), French oenologist See also List of medieval universities References Literature International Dictionary of University Histories, Routledge, 2013, pp. 429–431.